Links to other governmental sites:
| NC Metropolitan Coalition | NC Association of County Commissioners |
| National Civic League | N.C. Councils of Government |
Cooperation and interaction between governments is a guiding principle for the League. The founders of the League understood that working together, local governments could accomplish a great deal more than could be accomplished separately. Today, as responsibility and authority for various services and regulations are divided among levels of government, intergovernmental cooperation remains essential if citizens are to served effectively and efficiently.
Town to City to Village: Through the League, cities and towns can exchange information and cooperate on any number of projects. League publications, such as Southern City and survey reports, provide details on how other municipalities are handling particular challenges. NCLM regional meetings and the Annual Conference offer forums for both formal and informal exchange of information.
The League has sought and obtained legislation to make it easier for cities and towns to enter into interlocal agreements to do cooperatively anything that can be done as an individual municipality.
Mutual Aid Agreement (pdf file): The current mutual aid agreement is an excellent example of how Tar Heel local governments work together. Developed by the state and the N.C. Association of County Commissioners and the League in consultation in local governments, this agreement establishes means through which one local government can offer and another receive assistance in a time of disaster. The agreement covers logistics, deployment, liability, reimbursement and many other issues.
Click on Mutual Aid Agreement if you would like to download a copy of the mutual aid agreement.
For more information on the mutual aid program, visit the state's Division of Emergency Management website here.
Municipal to County: The League maintains a close working relationship with the N.C. Association of County Commissioners. The executive committees of the two organizations meet to discuss mutual concerns and, the advocacy staffs of the League and the Association work together on many common legislative goals in the General Assembly.
The League and the Association share an office building in Raleigh – the Albert Coates Local Government Center, built by the two organizations in the late 1970s.
The two also share responsibility for support of the North Carolina City and County Management Association, a very active professional organization of municipal and county managers, assistant managers and their assistants.
The League supports the efforts of the state's lead regional organizations or councils of government (COGs) and works most closely with the Joint Regional Forum. The Joint Regional Forum includes representation from each COG and acts as an advisory body to the League and the Association on regional issues.
Click here to find links to the Councils of Government websites.
Local/State Intergovernmental Relations
The most critical task of the League at the state level is to represent the municipal viewpoint at the state legislative and regulatory level. This includes a great many state committees, commissions and boards dealing with environmental, transportation, community development, retirement, insurance and many other issues.
The League seeks to have municipal officials appointed to state committees, commissions and boards. This usually means working through the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Senate President Pro Tem and House Speaker, where most of these appointments are made.
League staff members monitor the work of state committees and commissions that affect municipal operations and often appear before these groups to represent the interests of cities and towns. Beyond these formal appearances, the League staff works with staff members of state agencies, departments and the General Assembly to ensure that everyone has accurate information about municipalities.
When the need arises, the League co-sponsors training sessions with state agencies and departments for municipal officials. Examples of this would be workshops on Phase II stormwater regulations and other environmental regulations.
NCLM staff members also assist municipal officials in determining which state agency or department has jurisdiction or responsibility for a particular issue or problem. The League serves as a clearinghouse for information about state programs. For information about grants, see http://www.cris.state.nc.us
North Carolina is represented in Washington by two senators and 13 representatives. The League keeps in touch with members of the delegation to keep them informed on how federal legislation and regulations will affect NC cities and towns. NLC often asks state leagues to coordinate contacts between representatives and senators and constituent municipal officials. NLC will send out an alert, and the League will ask NC municipal officials to contact their members, often with specific information on how legislation will impact an individual city or town.
The League also coordinates visits to Washington of small groups of municipal officials to lobby on municipal issues. Officials talk with members of Congress on a few key issues of special interest to North Carolina.
NCLM staff members, of course, stay in contact with congressional staff members in both the district and Washington offices.
NC cities and towns must comply with a wide array of federal regulations, especially in the environmental area. Many of these are coordinated through state agencies and departments. When appropriate, League staff members work with federal agencies to resolve questions or problems concerning regulations or programs.
The League cooperates closely with the National League of Cities on municipal issues at the federal level. In addition, the League works directly with members of North Carolina's congressional delegation, the Washington office of the North Carolina governor, and federal regulatory agencies.
Many North Carolina officials play an active role in the National League of Cities. Currently, two serve on the NLC Board of Directors – Charlotte Council Member James Mitchell and Monroe Council Member P.E. Bazemore.
The North Carolina League annually names NC officials to serve on the NLC policy development committees and nominates individuals to the NLC steering committees. The NLC president makes all appointments to the steering committees. The NLC policy development committees make recommendations to the NLC Board of Directors concerning proposed National Municipal Policy, which is ultimately discussed and adopted by the voting members of the National League of Cities.
Cities and towns can either be direct members of NLC or be represented through their state league. North Carolina has the highest number of NLC direct member cities – another indication of the strong support for NLC.
NLC has two major conferences each year – the Congress of Cities held in late November-early December in various cities, and the Congressional City Conference held in early March in Washington, DC. The Washington meeting focuses on federal legislative issues, and, during this meeting, the League sponsors a briefing and a breakfast to bring together municipal officials and members of the congressional delegation.
To learn more about the National League of Cities, visit their website at www.nlc.org .
International relations: The NC League hosts, on occasional basis, municipal officials from foreign countries, both elected appointed. These officials come to the United States and North Carolina on study tours to learn more about democratic institutions, how municipal governments are organized and how the council-manager form of government works.
The League recently has hosted groups from China, Romania and Japan.
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